Coons releases statement on Trump decision to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel

Submitted News

Thursday

Dec 7, 2017 at 6:00 PM

Sen. Chris Coons released a statement Dec. 6 in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and begin the process of moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Jerusalem.

“While Jerusalem for 70 years has been the capital of the state of Israel, its final status remains unresolved and must be negotiated directly between the Israelis and the Palestinians. President Trump’s decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital today appears to be driven more by his desire to fulfill a campaign pledge than to generate progress towards direct peace talks,” Coons said. “In all decisions the United States makes regarding the Middle East, we must remain mindful of the long-standing bipartisan American objective: a two-state solution that ends the conflict, keeps Israel secure, Jewish and democratic, and allows the Palestinians to establish a viable independent state. I urge the Trump administration to create the conditions that help push the two parties to return to direct, bilateral negotiations without preconditions with the goal of achieving this objective.”